This past week, liberal hero Eric Swalwell has been compelled to end his California gubernatorial bid and resign from Congress because of allegations that he is a rapist. While the accusations against Swalwell were disturbing, they also provided the late night comedy shows the opportunity to make fun of a Democrat, but they refused and told zero jokes about Swalwell.
Throughout the entire week, Swalwell was only name-dropped once, and that was a setup for a joke about GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert. That came from ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, who on Thursday teed up a clip of Boebert by declaring, “We also got a sermon today from Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who had this to say about the recent exodus because of allegations of sexual misconduct by Congressmen Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales.”
In the clip, Boebert urged them to "Go to church, find Jesus" and wondered, "Like, I mean, why is everybody so horny here?”
This was the only mention of Eric Swalwell on the late night shows: a set up for Jimmy Kimmel to make a Lauren Boebert-Beetlejuice joke, "We also got a sermon today from Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who had this this say about the recent exodus because of allegations of sexual… pic.twitter.com/s5xAQzQ82Q
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) April 17, 2026
Kimmel retorted, “Come on, guys. This is Congress. Not a matinee of Beetlejuice. Keep it in your pants. Where I can get at it.”
Across Jimmy Kimmel Live!, CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show featuring Jon Stewart and Ronny Chieng, that was the only reference to Swalwell, and it came at a Republican’s expense, even if that Republican is the same one who couldn’t keep her hands to herself at a Beetlejuice production. NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers had the week off.
While one can understand why the late night comedy shows would not want to joke about rape, the alleged rapist himself also escaped ridicule. That is in contrast to plenty of jokes about President Trump and allegations of sexual misconduct directed towards him. Kimmel himself also suggested that Brett Kavanaugh should have his penis cut off and gone after other Republicans accused to grave sexual misconduct.
Kimmel’s lack of Swalwell jokes also stands out because Swalwell announced his campaign on Kimmel’s show. On November 20, Swalwell told Kimmel that California “needs a fighter and a protector,” which now sounds ironic in the worst way.
Fourteen months before that, in September 2024, during another Swalwell appearance, Kimmel asked Swalwell if his longtime nemesis, Sen. Ted Cruz, is “eating the urinal cakes?”
Earlier in the year, before the allegations against Swalwell exploded into public view, Colbert made fun of Swalwell’s erotic poetry that he wrote when he was in college but did not return to the fact it was called “Hungover from Burgundy,” which looks really bad given several of the allegations against Swalwell involve alcohol.
Gonzales had already dropped his re-election bid amid his scandal and likelihood he was going to lose his primary, so he was on his way out one way or another, but Swalwell was a liberal hero one week ago. The late night comedians like to view themselves as the kind of people who speak truth to power, but the Swalwell allegations show that only applies to Republicans.
Here is a transcript for the April 16 show:
ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!
4/16/2026
11:41 PM ET
JIMMY KIMMEL: We also got a sermon today from Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who had this to say about the recent exodus because of allegations of sexual misconduct by Congressmen Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales.
LAUREN BOEBERT: Yeah, go to church, find Jesus. Like, I mean, why is everybody so horny here?
KIMMEL: Come on, guys. This is Congress. Not a matinee of Beetlejuice. Keep it in your pants. Where I can get at it.
